Call for more food funding due to high living cost
Deputy Louise Doublet does not think the cost of living was considered in the ending of a trial.
Call for more food funding due to high living cost
Deputy Louise Doublet said she thought the cost of living was not taken into consideration in the decision
A Jersey politician has said she believes cost-of-living pressures were not factored in when the government decided to end a trial offering free fruit in primary schools.
Since 2024, children at four primary schools have been able to receive apples, bananas and other fruit through the pilot scheme.
Deputy Louise Doublet said: "To have that taken away at a time when the cost of living is still increasing I think has been quite hard for some families".
The education minister brought the trial to an end because too few children were eating the fruit and it was causing significant waste. The Government of Jersey has been contacted for comment.
In September, the government announced that fresh fruit would be added to a school food programme that provides hot school meals for government primary schools.
Minister for Education and Lifelong Learning Catherine Curtis had previously said the free fruit scheme was creating "a lot of wastage" and that parents had "actually asked" for fruit to be included in the school food programme instead.
Doublet said the minister had answered her questions in the assembly "centred around the evidence and she informed the assembly that it hadn't resulted in much of an increase in children actually consuming fruit and vegetables and I do accept that".
However, she added that she did not think the scheme had measured benefits in relation to the cost of living.
"Personally I would like to see more investment in healthy food especially if it's locally grown food to help families with the cost of living," she said.
Asked about the contract with UK company Apetito Limited to supply hot school meals for government primary schools across Jersey, she said it was the "best available option".
She added that she understood concerns about the freshness of the food, but her "understanding is that the meals are actually frozen rather than artificially preserved".
"I would like to see these funded meals extended further because it hits the cost of living for parents and... provides healthy meals for children," she said.